Page 67 of You Were Never Not Mine

“Where do you want to go?”

“No, it doesn’t work like that, August. You have to plan the date.” She is beaming, she’s so pleased. “What are you thinking? We could go out on Friday?”

“It’s Monday.” Friday is forever from now. I can’t wait that long. “How about this evening?”

“Noooo.” She draws the word out, laughing. “I’m so busy this week with school. There’s no way I can get together with you until Friday. Well, maybe Thursday night? That could work too.”

“Thursday it is.” My voice is firm. I’m not about to let her change her mind.

“Okay. Perfect. You’ll have to tell me how I should dress.”

For fuck’s sake. “What in the hell do you mean by that?”

“Well, if you’re taking me to dinner, then I need to knowwhat kind of restaurant it is so I can figure out what I should wear. Something casual? Or something more…formal? I know how you rich guys are. You love fancy places.”

You rich guys? “Isn’t your family wealthy?”

“Well...yes.”

“Are you close to them? Your family?”

She grimaces. “I don’t want to talk about them.”

That’s definitely a no. “You want me to plan our date and then tell you where we’re going?”

“You don’t have to give away all the details but just…let me know how I should dress. I want to wear something appropriate.” She clutches her hands together beneath her chin, looking younger than her eighteen years, which makes me feel like a lecherous old man. “You’re really going to take me on a date.”

She sounds surprised, which is…cute. And I don’t think anyone or anything is cute. Not even my niece. That little monster is the complete opposite of cute. Astrid is terrifying with all her screaming and wailing and thrashing about.

“You keep talking about this date, the more you’re going to convince me it’s a bad idea,” I warn her, though I don’t mean a word of it. If this is what she wants, this is what she’ll get.

“My lips are sealed.” She mimes zipping her mouth shut, locking it and throwing away the key. “Text me!” She’s about to walk away when she stops, turning to face me once more. “Do you have my number?”

I do. I sent her a text once and while she did respond, I could never reply back because I was worried she’d think I was an out-of-his- mind stalker. But I decide to lie. “I don’t.”

“What’s your number?”

I rattle it off and she adds it to her phone, sending me a text. My phone buzzes and I check it.

Can’t wait for our date.

She even included a smiley face emoji. I rarely use them. I think they’re stupid.

When I glance up, I see her watching me carefully. “You’ve texted me before, you know. You’re the one who said you couldn’t stop thinking about me.”

This entire experience is mortifying. No wonder I’ve never asked anyone on a date before. It’s a nightmare situation. “See? I’ve been afflicted since pretty much day one.”

“You make it sound like a bad thing.” Her smile is huge and the sight of it has my heart twisted up in knots. The poor thing. It’s been nonfunctioning my entire life and now it’s pounding all the time and probably confused as fuck. “See you Thursday, August.”

I watch her walk away until she disappears into the darkness, rubbing at my chest. Hoping that she’s safe. I send her a text.

Tell me when you’re in your dorm room.

Sin:Why? Do you want to sext me?

Hmm. That sounds interesting, but not at the moment. I decide to be honest because lying just gets me in trouble.

Me:I want to make sure you’re safe.

---